


for one night, we captured the stars

by Megane



Category: Stupidly Beautiful (Webcomic)
Genre: Avoiding Major Spoilers, Communication, F/M, Feelings, Friendship, Friendship/Love, It's Slight at Most, Mentions of other characters - Freeform, Music, Nonverbal Communication, Other, POV Multiple, Pre-Poly, Slice of Life, Slow Romance, Stars, Surprises
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-10
Updated: 2017-09-10
Packaged: 2018-12-26 00:29:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12047526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Megane/pseuds/Megane
Summary: As much as Kalmin wanted to deny it, these two truly resonated with him. There was something about them that gave him a sense of belonging, a sense of comfort that he hadn't known before. He wanted to thank them, and so, he gave them a gift that said everything he couldn't.





	for one night, we captured the stars

**Author's Note:**

> I do 100% absolutely recommend reading the source material by Local Lil Kiddo. [The series is on Tapas.](https://tapas.io/LocalLilKid/series) There are mature ratings on the appropriate chapters, so I trust you all to enjoy the material responsibly. 
> 
> It would also help put into frame the events about to take place. Or you can dive in balls first. S'all good with me. Also, forgive the errors if there are any. I couldn't pass this opportunity up for the world.

     “Wait! Don’t come in yet!” Kalmin said in a rush.

Deimos turned his head to look inside the room. All he could see was darkness, but regardless, he closed the door. He laughed gently and stroked his fingers over the rounded handle.

     “Sorry, man,” he apologised, grinning in spite of his apology.

     “What happened?” Mira asked sweetly.

     “Kalmin’s _masterful_ surprise isn’t ready yet,” said Deimos as he turned. He placed a hand against his chest and began walking towards the stairs to sit.

     “Oho!” Mira chortled as she followed. “And here I thought _I_ was the artist.”

     “Well, you were wrong. Completely misled.” Deimos sat on the second to last step.

     “I was duped!” Mira flopped down next to him. She leaned her body against his and threw a hand up against her forehead. She sighed dramatically. “Tricked by the universe into believing a sham.”

     “Oh, what a world,” Deimos delivered dryly. He pushed his weight back against hers and couldn’t help the fond smile that spread across his face.

     Mira sighed, keeping up with the bit. “I guess I’ll have to find a new occupation.” She dropped her hand down onto his knee.

     Deimos looked to her hand and covered it with his own. “How about… you just stick to being the world’s best girlfriend?” he replied lowly.

Warmth was building up across his face. Mira leaned her head back to look at him. He was so beautiful – in more than just appearance as well. When he spoke honestly, allowed himself a moment of vulnerability with someone he could truly trust – he was breathtaking. Mira splayed her fingers, and Deimos slotted his in between the spaces hers made. She squeezed her fingers against his gently. She was glad she was someone who could help him shine; she was glad to be someone he could trust.

     “Deimos,” she started quietly. “I’m sorry, okay?”

     Deimos frowned slightly. “For what?” he asked, his voice as quiet as hers.

     “For… That night when we talked with Gabriel and Aaron, I’m sorry for not taking your perspective into account. I know that it’ll be impossible to fully understand, but I want you to know that I am listening to you. Whatever you tell me _is_ valid.” She stared at their fingers quietly. “I can argue that you don’t know Gabriel as well as I do, but you got to understand him from a different perspective. Your history and mine… the things we felt are different. They brought us to Gabriel for similar but still completely different reasons. So what he said to you, what he felt for you, everything you two did…” Mira pursed her lips together. She looked to Deimos again as she repeated herself.

     “I’m sorry. I was so afraid of us having our first real fight that night. I didn’t know what was going to happen to us. Afterward, a part of me wondered if Gabriel would’ve been happy if that happened. I don’t believe he would’ve, but after what he said… I don’t know.” She laughed in spite of herself. “Maybe I don’t really get the way he works after all.”

Mira trailed off and then went quiet. Deimos held her gaze for a while longer before looking away. She could tell from the far off stare that he was thinking, choosing his words carefully.

     “I don’t… like the way Gabriel acts. I don’t like his flippancy. I don’t like the way he moves like he doesn’t care. I mean, I _do_ , because it’s so refreshing to know someone who doesn’t calculate every single move they make. It’s nice to meet someone who’s so go with the flow. But as I came to understand him, he’s so much more complicated than that, but he doesn’t make it seem that way.” Deimos stopped and frowned. “That doesn’t make any sense,” he muttered to himself.

     Mira turned more to face him. She reached over with her free hand to rub the back of his hand. “No, it does. Go on…”

     “Something about him just gets me, you know. You two are close; I get that. You two have a way of communicating. I _get_ that, but I don’t want him to think that, just because he’s been here longer, he can do whatever he wants to you or because of you. I don’t want him to monopolise you when it seems like you, at least, have moved on. He can be in denial all wants, but he should do it by his goddamn self.”

Mira nodded quietly at his side. She didn’t feel that way, at least not so harshly, but she could agree that Gabriel should take some time to himself to really think on what he wanted and where he really stood. Where they – _all_ of them – really stood.  Deimos took in a deep breath and shook off the feelings that were brewing inside of him.

     “But… I’m sorry too. I couldn’t… I don’t know how I feel about Gabriel anymore. Well.” He rolled his eyes before correcting himself. “I _know_ how I feel, but I wish I had it more in check. I didn’t mean to snap at you or imply something about you or… You know.” He groaned. “I’m bad at this.”

     “We’re both bad at this.” Mira paused and then she laughed. “We’re both _terrible_ at this in a way. We’ve been so good at communicating, but I can tell there are going to be some hard spots in the way we’re going to have to overcome.”

     Deimos felt something akin to joy swell in him at the thought of a continued future with her, but at the same time, he asked, “Then why are you laughing?”

     “Because I’m _scared_. Because I’m worried about how we’re going to react.”

She smiled at him then, tense but trying to maintain some semblance of hope. He searched her eyes before feeling a smile of his own form, faint and weary. He could relate. In a way, he was scared too. Hopelessly scared.

     The door to the basement opened finally. “Alright, you two can come in,” Kalmin said.

Mira and Deimos stood together, hand in hand, and walked over towards the door. Deimos reached for it and pushed it open. He and Mira looked around. The room was lit now. Kalmin was standing on the other side of the room.

  
[ [♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZdT2IscRvg) ] 

  
Steady, chill music was playing already to set the mood. Kalmin pointed with both hands towards the door.

     “You two stay right there,” he said, looking from Mira to Deimos.

The two halted in place. Mira snorted a laugh as she jerked to a sudden stop. She grabbed onto Deimos’ arm with both hands. He moved his arm slightly out to make sure she didn’t stumble further. Kalmin began walking backwards, reaching a hand behind him towards the light switch.

     “Get ready to see something magic,” he said. And with that, he flicked the lights off. In the space of a blink, the room was illuminated with colour. Yellows and blues and greens and purples covered the walls, the floor, and the ceiling. Even Kalmin’s own clothes were decorated with neon colours. His body formed a silhouette against the multicoloured stars. Deimos stood in awe while Mira crept forward, completely gobsmacked by what it was she saw.

     “Kalmin, this is…” It was colourful splatterings, true, but for some reason, all she could see was an ocean of neon stars. Whenever she placed her foot, she was walking among them. She was moving carefully as if not to disturb them, as if every moment would destroy the cosmic flow somehow. She lifted her head to the ceiling. Somehow, the colours missed the fan entirely, but amongst the sharp lines, there was a ball of colour that reminded Mira of a shooting star. She felt moved. For some reason, this was far, far different from their trip to the planetarium. This felt like a world of their own that Kalmin somehow created. She ran down the list of options before plainly asking,

     “Dude, how did you…?”

     Kalmin only laughed. “Can’t a guy keep a little mystery?”

  
[ [♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-DdQUszwoc) ]

  
He reached out to hold onto her. She let him anchor her in one place. She couldn’t stop looking around regardless. They were all vaguely aware of when the music changed this time. Mira’s lips parted. She wanted to speak; she wanted to say _something_ , but the words were gone. She could only laugh softly. 

     Deimos finally shifted closer. He took his time looking around the room. He wanted to capture the moment; he wanted to preserve the awe he felt. He came to stand near the other silhouettes. It wasn’t long before Mira started shifting. In a moment, her face illuminated with the light from her phone. Deimos reached over to take her by the wrist. “No,” he said quietly. “Let’s just… have this.”

 She looked up to him, and Deimos found he liked the way the light cast shadows across her face. He wasn’t much of an artist himself, but he could something poetic in it. Little did he know, Kalmin felt very much the same. Mira locked her phone and the light was gone.

      “Okay,” was all she said. She didn’t sound slighted. Not even a bit. She turned away from Kalmin and laughed. She could make out the shape of a couch. It was splattered with colours much like everything else was.

      “Should we sit down?” she asked, motioning an unseen hand towards the couch.

      “Think I’ll sit right here,” Kalmin replied. He crossed his legs and went down to the floor. Deimos went silently. Mira looked between the two moving shadows and nodded.

      “Think I’ll join you,” she said joyfully.

She settled down on the ground and then reached across to grab the two males’ hands. She rubbed her thumbs against their fingers. Afterward, her attention immediately went up to the ceiling. She really liked that comet like forward. She did her best to commit it to memory. Something about this moment would stay with her, inspire her in the very near future.

Deimos looked at Mira’s shadow. He couldn’t see her face, but she knew the excitement she must have felt. And it made him happy, endlessly. More than that, he felt at peace. Something about this moment was so secret, so remote, so removed away from everything he knew. It was like stepping into a dream world. He felt he could lie on his back and just fall asleep right here. And it would be okay. Everything, for once, felt _okay_ . It felt peaceful; it felt quiet; it felt right in a way he knew he could never explain. He looked over to Kalmin’s form. _Thank you_ , he wanted to say. For now, he kept it to himself.

Kalmin had his eyes closed. He retreated into some part of his mind that he knew he would never be able to express out loud. He was so glad he was here to share this with these two – _only_ with these two. He had only seen this once before but had never done it himself. Now that he had, he was glad that Mira and Deimos received it so well. They never failed to surprise him actually, and he was glad for it. He loved that he could share their company, that they always had good energy to give. He felt… so much for them, but he knew that there would never be enough words to describe the things they made him feel.

This was it, however. This universe of colour cast amongst a world of darkness was enough poetry he could give to them. This was the culmination of his feelings, and he knew that this wouldn’t be the end. Purple dots ran up the length of his right arm, but he would have loved if he could divide the colour into equal measures of blue and red. He squeezed Mira and Deimos’ hands. More than anything, he would have loved to have had those colours upon him, decorating him in tones that now meant so much.

  
[ [♪](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N79DlUXqMBw) ]

  
The music changed again, but none of them said anything. It took a minute before the tunes properly fit the moment. They talked with each other in hushed voices, saying what the neon stars around them looked like. Perhaps they were finding constellations where there weren’t any, but it was their world. They were gods in a private universe. It was their just due.

And they stayed long after the stars began to fade. Hand in hand, they watched as sections of the room disappeared into darkness. All at once through the connection of their strengthened bond, they knew they would never forget this moment.

**Author's Note:**

> So, [this happened to me tonight](https://sayallfiend.tumblr.com/post/165177350954/), and I'm still taken aback. I was so thrown off I had to hug her! Haha, I never do that. There was something about this that was so nostalgic and amazing. I can't wait to do it myself in the future.
> 
> I was going to write something original with this, and then I realised "No… This is perfect."
> 
> And if you're curious, you can also read this [on tumblr.](https://sayallfiend.tumblr.com/post/165178646324/)


End file.
